Saturday, February 8, 2014

Vancouver in Winter: Urban nature highlights



Winter 2014

Winter in Vancouver in late January - February 2014 was unusual; it rained only a three or four days in 21 days!

Vancouver is an interesting and beautiful Canadian city where more than 60 % of the local population do not have English as their first language. So the cultural mix is quite amazing. Also the city is beautiful because of its remarkable landscapes and seascapes and the care given to its structure (lots of parks).

I share some photos from the City with very brief comments on location.


CROSSING BURRARD INLET ON THE SMALL PASSENGER FERRY CALLED THE SEABUS



SEABIRDS INCLUDE PIGEON GUILLEMOTS (ABOVE) AND PELAGIC CORMORANT.


THE NEWLY DEVELOPED DISTRICT OF FALSE CREEK AND THE CITY SKYLINE.



EXCELLENT ART-PIECE IN PARK NEXT TO 'SCIENCE WORLD' NEAR FALSE CREEK. THIS PLACE WAS A MARSH WITH VACANT LOTS WHEN I WAS A KID.


VERY FEW BIRDS IN THE URBAN CORE ARE: AMERICAN ROBIN, STARLING, HOUSE FINCH. LAWNS ARE SO BORING.






THE EDGE OF SKID ROW: MAIN AND HASTINGS. MANY NATIVE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES ARE AMONG THE HOMELESS HERE.




THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA HAS A NEW 'BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM'.


ONE OF THE BEST 'SIGNATURE PARKS' IN THE CITY IS JERICHO PARK AT KITSILANO IN THE WEST PART OF THE CITY.




 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS WERE SINGING AND DISPLAYING - FANTASTIC VIEWS.



 JERICHO PARK HAS SOME FANTASTIC SEMI-ARTIFICIAL PONDS PERFECTLY LANDSCAPED FOR WILDLIFE.


RING-NECKED DUCK A RATHER UNCOMMON SPECIES FREQUENTS THE PONDS.




THE BEACHES OF JERICHO LOOKING TOWARDS SPANISH BANK WITH WINTER FOG.



MOUNT SEYMOUR IS ONLY 20 MIN. AWAY FROM THE CITY - A LOW-KEY SKI AREA.




THE RAVEN - A SACRED BIRD FOR THE NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE COAST


AMAZING OLD GROWTH FORESTS OF MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK, YELLOW CYPRESS, WESTERN HEMLOCK, WESTERN RED-CEDER ON THE UPPER SLOPES.



ALL THE NORTHERN SLOPES OF NORTH VANCOUVER A FULL OF MAGNIFICENT FORESTS AND RIVER VALLEYS.


AT THE END OF THE TRIP IN THE AIRPORT - A REMARKABLE AQUARIUM WITH LOCAL FISHES AND BULL KELP: ONE OF THE BEST NATURE DISPLAYS IN A PUBLIC SPACE I HAVE EVER SEEN.